How Christie could rebound -- and come out stronger

By Julian Zelizer, CNN Contributor

Updated 7:10 AM ET, Mon January 20, 2014

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is embroiled in unfolding controversies over alleged political payback. The primary scandal involves suggestions key aides and supporters orchestrated traffic gridlock around the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee last year to punish that town's mayor for not endorsing Christie's reelection. A separate controversy involves a federal watchdog's review of whether Christie improperly used Superstorm Sandy funds to produce tourism ads starring him and his family.

Hide Caption

1 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer claims New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno approached her in a parking lot last May and told her that Sandy recovery aid for her town depended on her support of a redevelopment project backed by the governor.

Hide Caption

2 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in the Christie controversies – Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno denies telling Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer that her town's Superstorm Sandy relief money depended on her support for a redevelopment project proposed by a company with ties to Gov. Chris Christie that he had backed.

Hide Caption

3 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in the Christie controversies – Maria Comella, a deputy chief of staff in Christie's office, had been monitoring the media reaction weeks after the George Washington Bridge traffic fiasco. She has been subpoenaed as part of the state legislative investigation.

Hide Caption

4 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie controversies – Randy Mastro, a former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former deputy mayor of New York, will head the legal team representing the Christie administration in various investigations relating to the George Washington Bridge political scandal. He once a the federal racketeering lawsuit that forced the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hold democratic elections and undergo court supervision.

Hide Caption

5 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Reid Schar, a key figure in the federal prosecution of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will assist the special state Assembly committee investigating the bridge scandal that has engulfed current and former aides of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Hide Caption

6 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, a Democrat, said he was concerned about the bidding process for using $25 million in Superstorm Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore.

Hide Caption

7 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Bridget Anne Kelly, Gov. Chris Christie deputy chief of staff, was fired when her e-mail about "traffic in Fort Lee" became the center of a political scandal involving current and former aides to the governor. She has been subpoenaed by a state Assembly committee investigating the matter.

Hide Caption

8 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – David Wildstein, a former top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who is at the center of the George Washington Bridge political scandal, has been charged with contempt by state Assembly investigators in New Jersey for refusing to testify before their committee. He has been subpoenaed by a second panel now leading the probe.

Hide Caption

9 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – E-mails suggest that Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich was the apparent target of an alleged political payback scheme involving traffic jams around the George Washington Bridge. He met with Chris Christie in early January to discuss the matter, and said the governor was "gracious and apologetic."

Hide Caption

10 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – New Jersey Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski is chairman of the special state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal. The panel has subpoenaed current and former top Christie aides as well members of his political organization, seeking documents and other materials. Chris Christie has not been subpoenaed but his office has.

Hide Caption

11 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Michael Drewniak, Christie's chief spokesman, has been subpoenaed by a special state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal. It is seeking documents and other materials. Although there is nothing to suggest Drewniak was involved in the scandal, e-mails released by investigators show he met with a key figure, David Wildstein, two days before Wildstein resigned from his job as a top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Hide Caption

12 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Bill Baroni was executive deputy director of the Port Authority until he resigned amid the scandal in December. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Baroni accepted responsibility for not following the right protocols in carrying out a traffic study -- which was the reason initially given for traffic jams around the George Washington Bridge. He, too, has been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee.

Hide Caption

13 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – David Samson, Port Authority chairman, said its board had no knowledge of the George Washington Bridge traffic jam mess until five days after the fact. He has been subpoenaed by the state assembly committee and is also a partner and founding member of Wolff & Samson, the law firm that represented the Rockefeller Group in the Hoboken redevelopment plan.

Hide Caption

14 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority, said access lane closures that resulted in the George Washington Bridge traffic mess didn't follow proper agency protocols. He ordered the lanes reopened and has been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee as part of its investigation into the bridge scandal.

Hide Caption

15 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who also didn't endorse Christie, has raised his own suspicions about his cooled relationship with the administration.

Hide Caption

16 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat, has been pressing for information about the scandal.

Hide Caption

17 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Democrat Barbara Buono is a New Jersey state senator who challenged Chris Christie this past November and lost in a landslide. She derided Christie during the campaign as representing "the worst combination of bully and bossism," and she brought up the George Washington Bridge traffic mess as an example.

Hide Caption

18 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Bill Stepien managed Chris Christie's two successful campaigns for govenor. E-mails suggest he was aware of the bridge lane closures, and Christie has asked him to give up his political role. He, too, has been subpoenaed by the state committee investigating the matter.

Hide Caption

19 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Scott Rechler, vice chairman of the Port Authority's board of commissioners, e-mailed other representatives of the agency saying he was disturbed that traffic was snarled "without regard to this being the Jewish high holiday weekend" last September. Rechler was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Hide Caption

20 of 21

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal21 photos

Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – E-mails suggest Regina Egea, then a senior staffer and the governor's point person to the Port Authority and other agencies, was aware of concerns the George Washington Bridge lane closures were not part of an ongoing traffic study as the Christie administration initially claimed. She's now Christie's incoming chief of staff and has also been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee.

Story highlights

He says most people didn't watch his apology and don't think less of him

He says new revelations could change that, but electorate forgets quickly

Zelizer: Christie may be able to focus on job, paint opponents as scandal-mongers

After a very long week, there has been a little light at the end of the bridge for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Some polls recently suggested that the scandal surrounding the three lanes to the George Washington Bridge might not have as much traction with the public as it does with reporters.

Although his job approval ratings have fallen dramatically, his numbers are still pretty decent with 55% of those polled by Quinnipiac University saying that he is doing a good job (a fall from 74% in February 2013, which was still relatively soon after his high-profile, and praised, performance in Superstorm Sandy).

According to the Pew Research Center, only 18% of people nationally reported that they had paid attention to Christie's news conference about the bridge incident; 60% said that their opinions of the governor had not changed.

The polls are certainly not enough to give Christie reason to breathe easily. They can change very quickly depending on how news unfolds. This is also a very dynamic story with more revelations about other kinds of activities by the governor's staff and the governor himself that could prove to be more damaging. In fact, this past weekend, news reports told of allegations that Gov. Christie's office had prevented Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer from receiving hurricane relief money until she helped move forward a major redevelopment project.

But it is also possible to see how Christie can survive this scandal, and even rebound, ending up in a stronger position than where he started.

The path to recovery might involve the governor turning attention on the investigators rather than the subject of the investigation. This is a strategy that many politicians have used quite successfully. In an age where there is intense partisanship, public distrust in government and a news media perceived as scandal-obsessed and politically biased, this strategy can work well.

Julian Zelizer

During the late 1990s, President Bill Clinton turned the impeachment proceedings on their head by charging that the entire investigation was driven by the partisan interests of Republicans such as Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay rather than the interests of the nation. During the Republican primaries in 2012, candidate Gingrich successfully attacked reporters as a way to deflect questions about his past.

Christie might be able to do the same. That he is a "red governor" in a blue state can actually turn to his advantage.

At a certain point, if the initial revelations don't lead to more, Christie can try to persuade the public that state Democrats are driving this process to bring down a governor who has proved to be enormously popular.

Given the reputation of New Jersey as a notoriously corrupt state filled with tales of wrongdoing by members of both parties -- for example, Democratic Mayor Tony Mack of Trenton was arrested after an FBI investigation into allegations of bribery, extortion and more -- many Americans inside and the state and out might end up wondering what's so different about this story than all the others they hear daily.

The governor can also spin this as a story about national Democrats who are trying to bring down a potential Republican rival in 2016. Politico recently reported how the Democratic National Committee has been unleashing an aggressive attack on the governor since December in an attempt to define this politician for Americans as less a maverick than a bully.

If Democrats are not careful, Christie can also show himself to be the person more interested in governance than politics, flipping the story against his opponents. In his State of the State Address, Christie tried to lay out a number of policy issues that he wants to tackle in the coming year, many revolving around the length of the school day and school year. But making a speech is one thing, moving forward with a policy agenda is another.

Christie addresses challenges ahead

Just Watched

Gov. Christie's latest poll numbers

If Christie can keep himself in New Jersey long enough and avoid the temptation of going out on the campaign trail, he could push forward with these and other ideas that are of great interest to New Jersey residents. The more that he can show himself to be concerned with the health of residents in the state and turn the debate toward policy, the better he can bolster the image he has built of being a chief executive whose primary concern is getting things done regardless of the politics involved.

This is the image that came out of Superstorm Sandy and is one that might be repeated in this highly charged environment. If the ongoing investigations don't turn up anything new to implicate the governor, Christie will say that he is the one who held people accountable and moved forward with leadership while his opponents whipped up scandal politics.

Timing is everything in politics. And the timing of this scandal might work in Christie's favor.

The scandal broke after his re-election and a long time before the Republican primaries for the 2016 election. The good thing for politicians in the U.S. is that the attention span of Americans is extremely short.

We have seen repeatedly how there can be intense, almost obsessive, fascination with a scandal (remember the IRS?) that can seem like the end of the world for the person involved, but soon it is forgotten. Americans are so saturated with stories about wrongdoing that there is a kind of numbness that develops. After some time, the nation moves on unless some devastating smoking gun brings a person down.

Within a few months, it is very possible that the public is not talking about this anymore. While Christie's reputation might be damaged and the image he crafted after Superstorm Sandy will not be as pristine, the news won't be about these lanes any more. Christie will always have to contend with questions about this, but the intensity will greatly diminish by the time that the governor really takes the nation stage.

Should he survive, this entire episode will also give Christie much tougher skin and more seasoned approach to handling these types of situations closer to the presidential election. He might also win back the media to this side since the only thing that reporters love better than the story of a political collapse is the story of a political comeback.

None of this is to say that the scandal is not serious or that this can't potentially cause immense damage to the governor. One e-mail revealing the governor actually knew about all of this would be devastating. Yet anyone who follows politics understands that this story could end up being a bridge to nowhere, and Christie can still emerge as the top Republican contender in 2016.